Baby Steps To Better You!

In the beginning of 2014, we all made several resolutions to make smarter choices this year… It’s always super easy to make those resolutions. However, the bigger the resolution, the sooner it breaks. From weight loss to getting more sleep, every New Year resolution meets the same fate (it goes off as easily as it comes) but I get it, you’ve got a busy life and you will always find an excuse !

 

That's why you need to start with little steps to be able to succeed. Here are some baby steps that can make a huge difference in your life:

•  Don’t drink your calories: After the holidays, there will plenty of catch-up nights with your girlfriends and let’s be honest, that means cocktails. Be smart and stop ruin your diet with empty calories from sugary drinks. You also might say " I don't like fruit much so I'd rather drink it to get the vitamins." Sure, you get a few vitamins, but they're added back in to replace the fruit's original vitamins, which were stripped out during processing and that goes for the "not from concentrate" juices as well. You'll also be missing out on the vast majority of the actual fruit's fiber and phytonutrients. Ultimately, you should view juice as simply being flat soda with a tiny bit of vitamin C thrown in. If you don't think a glass of soda sprinkled with vitamin C sounds like a healthy beverage, juice is little better.

• Drink skimmed milk! Skim milk is tasteless, right? If you are currently drinking whole or 2% milk, you probably think so. It is just too hard for you to drink white water. Understand that by drinking even 1/2% milk over skim milk gives the average person hundreds or thousands of extra grams of fat per year! This can add up to extra pounds of fat each year! It has to go somewhere.

• Take the stairs: The elevator is, "of course" the easier option. But this small choice will make you feel better about yourself, burns calories and is a simple way to start making an active effort to chose what’s best for you. Your jeans will thank you.

• Read nutrition labels: Another way to make changes is to start taking a look at the nutrition labels of the foods you are eating. Pay careful attention to serving size, as many labels can get tricky in that area; you might actually be eating two or more servings instead of one. Read the ingredients list too, and beware of trans-fats (also called hydrogenated oils), artificial sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, saccharin to name a few), artificial colors and flavors, high fructose corn syrup, bleached flours, and anything else that you don’t instantly recognize as food.
• Give multi-tasking a break: Too much juggling can lead to a lot of stress. “For those who have always aimed to be brave, capable and so hesitated at the toughest times to get help or to connect, stop doing that! Don't hesitate in delegating. Just sometimes, let it be!"
• Up your spa visits: It's important to reward yourself once in a while for all the hard work you relentlessly do every day. Compensate a busy week at work with a relaxing escape at a spa. Massages help reduce muscle tension and regain your vitality, restoring inner balance.
• Try a new vegetable every week.
• Try to cut back on eating out. Most restaurants put far too much sugar and salt in their foods. Not to mention, GMOs. (Extra bonus: this way you can save some money!)
• Think positively! The Mayo Clinic reports that Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may include: lower rates of depression, lower rates of distress, greater resistance to the common cold, reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and much more...
• Try -as hard as possible- to get your daily recommended 7-9 hours of sleeping...or at least some power naps (The power nap is thought to maximize the benefits of sleep versus time.)

• Use Natural Personal Care Products and Home Cleaners: Your skin is your largest organ and it soaks up everything you put on it and/or it exposed to. Just as there are warnings against second hand smoke, the hazardous labels on these products should say that the fumes are toxic and your skin soaks them up.

When you take a baby step; that first step makes the next one and the later ones much more easier. A few steps in sequence become a path that we walk together.

 

Have a nice weekend!

How to Deal With Autistic Toddlers?

 

Raising a child is tough enough, but when your toddler is autistic, you will be experiencing a greater degree of difficulty and frustration. Autistic toddlers can have trouble communicating, recognizing appropriate social behaviors and may perform repetitive activities that you find annoying. It's easy to lose your temper, but this often makes the situation worse. Working on reducing your own temper flare-ups can help in a better relationship with your child.

Highlights for the four most challenging autism behaviors and advices on how to best handle them:

1-Meltdowns:

• Step 1

Develop a predictable routine for your child. Autistic children may be more likely to have a meltdown when things are different, and meltdowns can cause you to lose your temper. When your child knows what to expect, he's comfortable and you can be, too.

• Step 2

Avoid activities that trigger anger. Identify the things your child does that make you the angriest. If he's constantly spilling his drink, try different types of cups with tops. If you get frustrated when he doesn't follow your directions while making a craft, try crafts that are more open-ended, the type that don't have a "right" way of doing them.

• Step 3

Take deep breaths when you feel anger coming on. It may seem cliché, but taking a short break from a situation where you might lose your temper can help calm you down, according to Operation Autism.

• Step 4

Reduce other areas of stress in your life. When life piles it on, you might take out your frustrations on your child. Take time for yourself to do things you enjoy doing, like reading a book or exercising. If there's a part of your day that tends to be particularly stressful, find a way to make changes. For example, if your child has frequent meltdowns during the time when you're trying to cook dinner, you may get less angry if you prepare dinner during his nap time or in a slow cooker in the morning.

 

2-Sleep Disruption:

Sleep can be tough for kids with autism, as they tend to have highly sensitive nervous systems. Even the slightest variation in their day can affect their sleep for the night.

• Be extremely careful not to give your kid anything that has any caffeine
• Avoid chocolate after 3 PM.
• Make sure he gets a lot of exercise during the day
• Use room-darkening shades, a white noise machine, weighted blankets (Basically anything you can do to make sleep more appealing)
• Teach their bodies that it's nighttime and we're not going to start the day just because you woke up in the middle of the night...A lot of parents feel that when their child wakes up in the middle of the night they have to get him something to eat, turn on the TV, and immediately cater to the fact that he stirred or woke up as opposed to bringing him or her back to bed. Show them a picture of a clock and a picture of Mom and Dad and say: "You can come into our room when your clock matches this clock."

3- Food Sensitivity:

Kids with autism tremendously picky and selective and limited in what they will eat. "It's a sensory thing; you have to have lots of trial and error, certain textures, and certain foods."

• Don't make them eat anything they didn't want to eat. Everybody eats more if they feel relaxed
• Try slow, gentle and positive approach because you want them to take their fear and anxiety around food and transform it into a sense of empowerment and a sense of control.

4- Aggressive Behavior:

Aggressive and self-injurious behaviors are fairly common in children with autism, when your son acts aggressively; it's usually due to sensory overload or frustration with his inability to communicate his needs effectively. Most times, when people better understand the basis for the aggressive or self-injurious behavior and then accommodate or support the person with autism, things can improve dramatically…

• Keep scrupulous notes about the toddler and his behaviors and all the factors in his day; what he eats, how much he sleeps, even whether his father is on a business trip. You can actually identify seasonal behavioral arcs. So when something is wrong, you can go back and figure it out.

Good Luck!

Causes of Red Tired Eyes.

Tired eyes occur as a consequence of the effort. In general, there is a serious phenomenon. Tired eyes may indicate an eye disease in children or an age problem to person who are over 50 years old. In rare cases, eye fatigue is due to the presence of a disease or a medical treatment. However there are many contributing factors that can be the cause of red tired eyes. Genetics can play a part but this is not the main cause of this problem.

 

The symptoms include:

Burning sensation, heaviness in the eyes, sore eyes, watery eyes, dry eyes, blurred vision, an uncomfortable sensation of the eyelids or a pressure in the eye. Sometimes, eye fatigue can be accompanied by headaches, dizziness and migraines.

What are the causes?

• The air conditioning
• Heating system
• Caffeine, tobacco or cigarette smoke
• Industrial dust or other dust
• Reading for extended periods
• Spending several hours a day in front of the TV or computer
• Under-performing liver or kidneys
• Allergies, hay fever, sinus problems and nasal congestion
• Inadequate sleep
•  Excessive crying
• Inadequate oxygen supply to the cornea
• Pollution
• Exposure to bright light or glare
• Straining to see in very dim light
• Fluid retention, salt (sodium) intake and lymphatic drainage
• Increased pigmentation of the periorbital area (Indian, Asian, African and Mediterranean people)
• Aging: It is the main cause of eye fatigue after 50 years; the body releases fewer tears, determining eye dryness.

Home remedies for tired eyes:

• Apply compresses of warm water on the eyelids, if the eyes are dry. It's not necessary to use sterile water.
• Use eye drops that will temporarily relax sensitive and irritated eyes.
• Create a proper humidity in the room at night, in order to avoid waking up with red eyes.
•  Plan a break from your computer. Take a break of 10 minutes at every hour.
• Improve your working environment. Reduce the brightness of the computer screen or install a protection screen, reduce the intensity of colors.
• Consult your doctor when you have an eye problem. People often regret that they haven't asked for the advice of a doctor earlier, because the eye exam is not painful and the remedies are efficient.

 Have a beautiful day!